Door operating mechanism



Oct. 15, 1935. 1 A. SCHWEIG 2,017,735-

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Jan. e, 1934 2 Shets-Sheet 1 fi '.'Z. 2/3 z 1/15 flrraeme'ns.

Get. 15, 1935. J. A. SCHWEIG DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 6, 19342 Sheets-Sheet? Patented Oct. 15, 1935 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 11Claims.

This invention relates todoor operating mechanisms, and moreparticularly to operating mechanisms for elevator doors of thevertically sliding, counterbalanced type.

The subject matter hereof is in part a continuation of my applicationSerial No. 491,889 filed October 29, 1930 for patent for Door operatingmechanism, now No. 1,943,042.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide asimple and efficient door operating mechanism of the above type whichcan be quickly and easily mounted on the elevator without materialalteration thereof. Other objects are to provide for lubrication,economy of construction, compactness of design and fewness of parts. Theinvention consists in the door operating mechanism and in theconstruction, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification andwherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is an interior side elevation of the door side of an elevatorshaft, showing the doors on adjacent floors each equipped with a dooroperating mechanism embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the door side of the shaft on theline 22 in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary interior side view of the door on theside of the shaft in the region of the operating mechanism for one ofthe doors,

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 44 in Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 55 in Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 6-6 in Fig. 4,

Fig. '7 is a horizontal section on the line l-! in Fig. 3,

Fig. 8 is a vertical section on the line 88 in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view showing a door operating mechanism ofmodified form.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 8-, inclusive, of the accompanying drawings, thepresent preferred form of my invention is shown in connection with anordinary freight elevator comprising a shaft A having a door opening Bat each floor which is closed by means of a vertically sliding,counterbalanced door comprising upper and lower door sections C and D,respectively. The upper and lower sliding door sections of each. doorare provided along each vertical edge with an angle bar side. framemember l slidably arranged in angle bar door guides 2 that are rigidlysecured to each other and to the wall of the elevator shaft A.

The upper and lower door sections of each door are hung on flexiblecable chains 3 that pass over sheaves 4, 4a located within the shaftadjacent 5.

chain is connected to the upper end of an upright 10 rod 5, whose lowerend is secured to the outer end of an arm 6 that projects horizontallyfrom the adjacent upper corner of the lower door section D. By thisarrangement, one door section acts as a counterbalance for the other,and the two sections move simultaneously towards and away from eachother. The elevator construction thus far described is well known and itis considered unnecessary to illustrate it in detail.

The door on each floor is opened and closed 20 by means of a separatedoor operating mechanism driven by an electric motor, preferably areversible torque motor 1, which can be stalled under a full load forseveral minutes without injury. The customary limit switches not shown)are employed for automatically stopping the motor when the door sectionsreach the limit of their opening and closing movements; and'the usualpush button stations (not shown) are provided on the elevator car and oneach floor for starting, stopping and reversing the motors.

The electric motor is provided at the armature end of its housing with aflange 8 that is removably secured by cap screws 9 flatwise to thevertical face of a plate I0 provided with an opening through which thearmature shaft ll of the motor extends. The armature shaft II isprovided at its end with a spur pinion l2 which drives a larger spurgear l3 formed integral with the door supporting sheave-4. This doorsupporting 40 sheave has an elongated hub portion 14, which is fixed toa supporting shaft l5 and has a small gear l6 keyed or otherwise rigidlyfixed thereto for rotation with said sheave and the large gear 13thereon. The small gear IS on the sheave 4 drives a gear ll of the samediameter fixed to one end of a shaft l8 which has a sprocket wheel l9fixed to the other end thereof that drives an endless sprocket chain 20located in a horizontal channel 2| provided therefor in the interiorsurface of the front wall of the elevator shaft A just above lintel 22of the door opening B. Said sprocket chain 29 extends longitudinally ofthe channel 2i to the opposite side of the door opening Where it passesaround a sprocket wheel 23 fixed to a shaft 24 on which the door sheave4a is rigidly mounted.

The drive gearing for the sheave 4 is enclosed within a suitablelubricant containing housing 25 provided at its top and bottom withvertical flanges 26 that are rigidly secured fiatwise to the adjacentangle bar door guide 2, which is cut away to accommodate the portion ofthe housing that extends thereacross. Said housing has a recess in itsmotor opposing face of a size and shape adapted to accommodate the gearsl2, l3, l6 and IT. The gear receiving recess chamber of the housing 25is closed by means of a plate 21 that is removably secured to saidhousing by means of screws 38. The armature shaft H and the peripheralgear carrying portion of the. sheave 4 extend through openings 3! and32, respectively, provided therefor in the closure plate 21. Both ofsaid openings are flanged to prevent leakage of oil therethrough, theflange of the sheave receiving opening 32 being seated in an annulargroove provided therefor in a felt ring 33 seated in the adjacent faceof the sheave 4.

The sprocket wheel I9 is located outside of the gear housing 25 with oneend of its supporting shaft 28 extending into said housing and journaledin suitable antifriction bearings 34 provided therefor in said housingand the other end of said shaft is journaled in suitable antifrictionbearings 35 mounted in a'bracket 36 that is removably secured by capscrews 31 to the adjacent vertical face of said housing. The supportingshaft l5 for the combination gear and sheave 4 has one end supported ina suitable antifriction bearing 58 provided therefor in the gear housing25; and the other end of said shaft is supported in similar antifrictionbearings 39 provided therefor in the motor supporting plate Ill. Themotor supporting plate I0 is spaced from the gear housing 25, far enoughto accommodate the sheave 4, by means of lugs 40 that are formedintegral with said plate and are removably secured to the housing bymeans of cap screws 4|. The motor supporting plate it is also providedwith an arcuate flange 42 which overhangs the sheave 4 and constitutes ashield therefor.

The shaft 24 for supporting the sheave 4a and the driven sprocket wheel23 is journaled in an arm 43 whose upper end is pivotally supported, asat 44, on the adjacent door guide 2 for vertical swinging movementtowards and away from the sheave 4a so as to vary the distance betweenthe two sprocket wheels and thus place the sprocket chain 26 cooperatingtherewith under the desired tension. The sheave and sprocket supportingarm 43 is adjusted preferably by means of a pair of nuts 45 that arethreaded on a stud 46 rigidly secured to the adjacent door guide 2. Thestud fits within a notch provided therefor in the free lower end of thearm with the'adjusting nuts 45 disposed one on each side of said end ,ofsaid arm.

The operation of the door operating mechanism is as follows: When it isdesired to operate the door on a particular fioor,,the motor at thatfloor is started and the drive of said motor is transmitted through theintermeshing gears l2 and I3 to the sheave 4, thence through theintermeshing gears l6 and I1 to the sprocket wheel 19 and thence throughthe sprocket chain 20 to the sprocket wheel 23 which rotates with thesheave 4a in a direction opposite to the direction in which the sheave 4is rotated. The drive is then transmitted from the oppositely rotatingdoor sheaves 4 and 4a to the door chains 3 supported thereon by means ofthe friction between the surfaces in contact, thereby causing the twodoor sections to slide in the door guides 2. The door sections are slidapart when the motor is operated in one direction and are broughttogether when the motor 5 is reversed.

Fig. 9 represents the modified form of the preferred invention which wasspecifically shown and claimed in said application Serial No. 491,889.In this form of the invention the door sheave 4 is 1 provided with agear 41 which drives a gear 48 located thereabove whose supporting shaft49 has a sprocket wheel 58 fixed thereto that drives an endless sprocketchain 28a. The sprocket chain 200. extends across the shaft and passesaround a 15 sprocket wheel 5| fixed to the door sheave 40. on that sideof said shaft. I

The hereinbefore described door operating mechanism has numerousadvantages. It provides a simple and compact drive gear unit which 2occupies a minimum amount of space in the elevator shaft and which canbe easily mounted on said shaft without material alteration thereof. Themotor, gears and door sheave adjacent thereto are adapted to be attachedto and removed 25 from the shaft as a unit, and all of the gears run inlubricant contained in an oil-tight and dustproof housing. Theconstruction also provides a simple mounting for the driven sprocketwheel which is readily adjustable to take up slack in 30 the sprocketchain.

Obviously, the hereinbefore described arrangement admits of considerablemodification without departing from the invention. Therefore, I

do not wish to be limited to the precise arrange- 5 ments shown anddescribed.

What I claim is:

1. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidableupper and lower door sections, a pair of sheaves, chains passing over 40said sheaves and connecting said door sections, an electric motor gearedto one of said sheaves for driving the same, a gear rotatable with saidsheave, a second gear driven by said first gear,

a sprocket wheel rotatable with said second gear, 45 a sprocket wheelrotatable with the other sheave, and an endless sprocket chain passingover said sprocket wheels.

2. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidableupper and lower door 50 sections, a pair of sheaves, chains passing oversaid sheaves and connecting said door sections, an electric motor gearedto one of said sheaves for driving the same, a gear rotatable with saidsheave, a second gear driven by said first gear, 5 a sprocket wheelrotatable with said second gear,

a sprocket wheel rotatable with the other sheave, an endless sprocketchain passing over said sprocket wheels, and means for moving saidsecond mentioned sprocket wheel towards and away 0 from said firstmentioned sprocket wheel to Vary the tension of said endless sprocketchain.

3. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidableupper and lower door sections, a pair of sheaves, chains passing oversaid sheaves and connecting said door sections, an electric motor gearedto one of said sheaves for driving the same, a gear rotatable with saidsheave, a second gear driven by said first gear,

a sprocket wheel rotatable with said second gear, a sprocket wheelrotatable with the other sheave, an endless sprocket chain passing oversaid sprocket wheels, means for moving said second mentioned sprocketwheel towards and away from said first mentioned sprocket wheel to varythe tension of said endless sprocket chain, said means comprising apivotally mounted arm for supporting said second mentioned sprocketwheel, a fixed stud cooperating with the free end of said arm, and apair of nuts threaded on said stud on opposite sides of the free end ofsaid arm.

4. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidableupper and lower door sections, a door operating sheave, an electricmotor geared to said sheave for driving the same, a gear rotatable withsaid sheave, a second gear driven by said first gear, a sprocket wheelrotatable with said second gear, a housing for supporting said motor andfor supporting and enclosing the entire gearing, a second door operatingsheave, chains passing over said door operating sheaves and connectingsaid door sections, a second sprocket wheel rotatable with said seconddoor operating sheave, and an endless sprocket chain passing around saidsprocket wheels.

5. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidableupper and lower door sections, a door operating sheave, an electricmotor, a pinion on the armature shaft of said motor, a gear on saidsheave intermeshing with said pinion, a second gear rotatable with saidsheave, a third gear driven by said second gear in a direction oppositeto that of said sheave, a sprocket wheel rotatable with said third gear,a second door operating sheave, chains passing over said door operatingsheaves and connecting said door sections, a second sprocket wheelrotatable with said second door operating sheave, and an endlesssprocket chain passing around said sprocket wheels.

6. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidableupper and lower door sections, a door operating sheave, an electricmotor, a pinion on the armature shaft of said motor, a gear on saidsheave intermeshing with said pinion, a second gear rotatable with saidsheave, a third gear driven by said second gear in a direction oppositeto that of said sheave, a sprocket wheel rotatable with said third gear,a housing for supporting said motor and for supporting and enclosingsaid pinion and said gears, a second door operating sheave, chainspassing over said door operating sheaves and connecting said doorsections, a second sprocket wheel rotatable with said second dooroperating sheave, and an endless sprocket chain passing around saidsprocket wheels.

7. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidableupper and lower door sections, a door operating sheave, a sprocketwheel, an electric motor geared to said sheave and to said sprocketwheel for driving them in opposite directions, a second door operatingsheave, chains passing over said door operating sheaves and connectingsaid door sections, a second sprocket wheel rotatable with said secenddoor operating sheave, and an endless sprocket chain passing around saidsprocket wheels.

8. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidableupper and lower door sections, a door operating sheave, a sprocket 5wheel, an electric motor geared to said sheave and to saidsprocket'wheel for driving them in opposite directions, a housing forsupporting said motor, said sheave and said sprocket wheel and forsupporting and enclosing the gearing for driving said sheave and saidsprocket wheel, a

second door operating sheave, chains passing over said door operatingsheaves and connecting said door sections, a second sprocket wheelrotatable with said second door operating sheave, and an endlesssprocket chain passing around said sprocket wheels.

9. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidableupper and lower door sections, a pair of sheaves, chains passing oversaid sheaves and connecting said door sections, an electric motor gearedto one of said sheaves for driving the same, a gear rotatable with saidsheave, a second gear driven by said first gear, a sprocket wheelrotatable with said second gear, a sprocket wheel rotatable with theother sheave, an endless sprocket chain passing over said sprocketwheels, a housing supporting and enclosing said gearing, and a plateremovably secured to said housing and supporting said motor.

10. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidableupper and lower door sections, a pair of sheaves, chains passing oversaid sheaves and connecting said door sections, an electric motor, apinion on the armature shaft of said motor, a shaft for one of saidsheaves, a gear on said sheave meshing with said pinion, a gear on saidshaft, a second shaft, a gear on said second shaft meshing with the gearon the first shaft, a sprocket wheel fixed to said second shaft, asprocket wheel rotatable with the other sheave, an endless sprocketchain passing over said sprocket wheels, a housing enclosing said pinionand said gears, a plate secured to said housing for supporting saidmotor, antifriction bearings in said housing for supporting one end ofsaid shafts therein, an antifriction bearing in said plate forsupporting the other end of said first shaft therein, a bracket securedto said housing, and an antifriction bearing mounted in said bracket forsupporting the other end of said second shaft therein.

11. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidableupper and lower door sections, a pair of sheaves, chains passing oversaid sheaves and connecting said door sections, a gear rotatable withone of said sheaves,

a second gear driven by said first gear, a sprocket wheel rotatable withsaid second gear, a sprocket wheel rotatable with the other sheave, anendless sprocket chain passing over said sprocket wheels, and meansoperatively connected to one of said sheaves and sprocket wheels fordriving the same.

JULIUS A. SCHWEIG.

